From China to Giro breakaway: Kench dares to dream on Grand Tour debut

Josh Kench’s journey to the Giro d’Italia has been a unique one. The 25-year-old Kiwi was racing for the Chinese continental team, Li Ning Star last season, his second consecutive season on a Chinese team, having raced for Tianyoude Hotel Cycling Team the previous campaign.

2025 saw Kench win the GC at the Tour of Sharjah in the UAE and the Tour of Bostonliq in Uzbekistan. Kench’s performances caught the eye of those in charge at Groupama-FDJ United, and the Kiwi made the rare jump straight from continental level to the WorldTour.

In his debut Grand Tour, Kench had ridden a solid and consistent race so far, sitting 27th in the GC at 20:50 ahead of stage 13. 

Friday’s stage saw Kench make the day’s breakaway for the first time, as the best-placed rider in the GC from the fifteen-man group. The Kiwi and his Groupama-FDJ United teammates, Axel Huens and Johan Jacobs, certainly weren’t riding like it was Kench’s Grand Tour debut, though.

With three riders out of the fifteen-rider breakaway, Groupama shouldered the responsibility of controlling the tempo and riding a stern pace, setting Kench up for an attack on the final climb to Ungiasca. 

With 15.8km remaining, Kench made his move, daring to dream of a stage victory on his Grand Tour debut. It wasn’t to be for Kench as he was countered by Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) and Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana). The Italian Bettiol would go solo over the summit to take his first victory in nearly two years. 

Meanwhile, Kench rode a gritty performance to secure sixth place, as part of a four-man sprint for third. At the finish, Kench was disappointed with the outcome, but acknowledged the huge step up he had made in the last year. 

“Yeah, I guess so. That's how it was,” Kench told reporters, including CyclingProNet, when asked if he thought he might be riding to a Giro stage win. 

“The team supported me completely, and yeah, I guess I'm pretty disappointed right now because I let the boys down, but like you say, I've come from China last year, so I can be proud,” said Kench. 

The Kiwi praised the work of his teammates Huens and Jacobs, who were all in for Kench’s chances of success, giving him a boost of confidence. 

“I think they [Huens and Jacobs] gave me the confidence to give it everything. I guess at least I can say I kind of did them proud, and I gave it everything today.”

Kench explained that the work done by his teammates on the run-in to the climb was partly to deter any attacks on the flat by powerhouses such as Mikkel Bjerg. 

“I guess they were all in for me, you know, so the whole day was to make sure no attacks went up the road beforehand,” said Kench. 

“Obviously, there were the likes of Mikkel Bjerg and stuff who could maybe get up the road on the flat. So, it was all about making sure we controlled it until the climb.”

After making his effort, Kench was countered by Leknessund a few hundred metres later as the road ramped up significantly in gradients. Kench admitted that he maybe could have held back his attack until the steepest section of the climb

“Yeah, I think I probably could have waited another kilometre before the steep bit. That was a bit of an error on my behalf,” said Kench. “So, I'm a bit disappointed on that. I think maybe it could have been a different outcome. So, a bit disappointing.”

Bettiol soloed to an emphatic victory, demonstrating his class. Kench was well aware of the dangers that Bettiol could pose, and credited the Italian after his fine stage win. 

“Bettiol has won so many races. He's got an amazing palmares. He was the one to watch, I guess, on the climb as well, you know,” said Kench. “Our tactic was for me to go full gas and hope they dropped.”